SAN FRANCISCO -- It was turn back time night at AT&T Park on Monday, with the Dodgers making Player Page for Matt Cain look like it was 2012, and the Giants making Hyun-Jin Ryu look like it was 2014.
Ryu's record fell to 0-4 in a 2-1 loss, but this wasn't the same Ryu that allowed six home runs in 15 1/3 previous innings. This time Ryu went six solid innings, charged with one run on a sacrifice fly. He pitched backward, relying on breaking balls and changeups while only occasionally showing a fastball that hovered around 90 mph.
"Tonight he really showed his complete mix," manager Dave Roberts said. "For him to be stressed a little in the sixth but to get through it, it was good moving forward."
Ryu was hurt by a Brandon Crawford double leading off the second inning after getting big-time help in the first inning when Yasiel Puig gunned down Brandon Belt at the plate trying to score on Buster Posey's two-out single. At one point, Ryu retired nine consecutive Giants batters.
"First of all, I think it was the best outing I've had since the surgery," said Ryu, who missed most of the last two years with shoulder and elbow operations. "They didn't make hard contact on my pitches. Although AT&T Park is famous for being pitcher friendly, I wanted to make sure I don't give up home runs and extra bases and I concentrated on keeping my pitches low.
"It's been more than two years, definitely a long road back, but I was able to make a quality start. It would have been better if I could have done it from the start of the season. It took four starts, but I hope to build on this."
Ryu was even able to talk his way into retiring Crawford on a popup to end the sixth inning after a mound meeting with Roberts.
"I was glad he had the confidence to let me finish the inning," said Ryu.